British Somaliland
British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (Somali: Maxmiyadda Dhulka Soomaalida), was a crown colony and protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Abyssinia (temporarily Italian Ethiopia). From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa.
Somaliland Protectorate Maxmiyadda Dhulka Soomaalida (Somali) | |||||||||||||||||
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| 1884–1940 1941–1960 | |||||||||||||||||
Badge of British Somaliland (1952-1960)
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| Anthem: God Save the Queen (1862–1901 & 1952–1960) God Save the King (1901–1940 & 1941–1952) | |||||||||||||||||
British Somaliland in 1922 | |||||||||||||||||
| Status | Self-ruling sultanates under British Protection (administered by the Government of India 1984-1898) and then British colonial government (1 October 1898 onward) | ||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Berbera (until 1941) Hargeisa (from 1941) | ||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Somali, Arabic, English | ||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||||||||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||||||||||
• 1884–1888 (first) | Frederick Mercer Hunter | ||||||||||||||||
• 1959–1960 (last) | Douglas Hall | ||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||
• British control | 1884 | ||||||||||||||||
• Protection treaties | 1886 | ||||||||||||||||
• Somali coast protectorate | 20 July 1887 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1900–1920 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 August 1940 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 April 1941 | |||||||||||||||||
| 26 June 1960 | |||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||
| 1904 | 137,270 km2 (53,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||||
• 1904 | 153,018 | ||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Rupee (1884–1941) East African shilling (1941–1962) | ||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Somalia (de jure) Somaliland (de facto) | ||||||||||||||||
| History of Somaliland |
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| Somaliland portal |
On 26 June 1960, British Somaliland was formally granted independence by the United Kingdom as the State of Somaliland. Five days later, on 1 July 1960, the State of Somaliland voluntarily united with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somalia) to form the Somali Republic. The government of Somaliland, a self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia, regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland.